The Legend of Zrathos
by Claws of Shadows
Summary: Sonic and his friends decided to take a vacation to Seaside Hill to celebrate their most recent victory over Eggman. They then discover a strange object upon the beach, and things began to escalate from there... they soon find themselves up against something so powerful deemed Death itself; can they defy this 'Death? First Fanfiction, Please read and review!
1. We're on Vacation!

**Welcome everyone to Sonic the Hedgehog: The Legend of Zrathos. This is my first fanfiction ever, so please read and review; I accept all types. **

**The first three chapters will be easygoing hilarity, so sorry for those who wanted instant action; perhaps next story. I also except story requests, so if you'd like to do one of those PM me and/or check out my profile.**

**All characters belong to Sega. I do not own any of them, nor do I take credit for them.**

**So without further ado, the Prologue.**

It was a rainy day on Mobius. The very air seemed still, thick yet peaceful as if time itself had frozen. Thick gray mist rose slowly, swirling gracefully on it's ascent towards the grey black sky as the rain fell from the clouds, creating a wonderful, soothing tinkling sound as it hit the ground; one of the many sweet sounds of Mother Nature. Combined with the splendor of the rising mist, the world itself seemed to be in a peaceful, wondrous state.

But peace never lasted long in Mobius.

On a deserted highway in the middle of nowhere, lights cut through the thick steam, and the rumble of a motor droned out the peaceful sound of the rain, all of the beauty of such a day lost in the driver and his passengers.

It was none other than Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow and Cream traveling towards Seaside Hill on vacation. They had rented a van in place of the Tornado due to damage dealt to it after Eggman's most recent plan; which they had stopped. Since it was the toughest yet, they had decided to celebrate…. only it wasn't going as planned.

In the van, Tails was driving. Alongside him sat Shadow, reading the directions. In the backseat was Sonic, whom was sitting on the left window side. Cream was sleeping in the middle, with Amy sleeping alsoon the far right window side. Knuckles was in the back with the baggage, quiet for once; no one was sure if he was sleeping or not.

"Are we there yet Tails?" Sonic asked for at least the ninth time, impatiently tapping his fingers on his seat armrest as he waited for an answer. Not receiving one immediately, the blue hedgehog sighed again before Tails could respond, casting a bored emerald gaze out the window. They had been on the road eight hours; it was a miracle the blue speed demon hadn't gone mad.

"Almost Sonic," Tails replied, ignoring the groan he got in reply. The fox needed to pay closer attention to the road than the hedgehog, and he intended on doing just that. 'He needs to learn to be more patient!' Tails thought, his namesake tails swishing slightly in exasperation.

Thankfully, a sign flashed by stating that Seaside Hill would be in ten miles. "See Sonic? Not long now," Tails said, relief thick in his voice. He then noticed the sign just said ten miles; it didn't have an arrow or any form of direction.

"Shadow, what do the directions say?" Tail's asked, slowing down just a tad as the highway curved slightly. Shadow lifted up his no name brand black and red phone, and checked.

"I don't know what the directions say; it lost signal," Shadow grunted, putting the phone down and resuming his original task; napping.

"What do you mean we lost signal? So we're supposed to guess when 10 miles is up?!" Sonic exploded from the backseat before Tails could utter a word. The hedgehog was usually happy and upbeat, but being stuck in a enclosed space with Shadow, unable to run with the constant pattering rain was driving him near insane.

"Quiet Faker or I'll let the windows down," Shadow threatened. Sonic's eyes said it all.

Tails simply sighed at the two's antics. "I guess so, although it shouldn't be too bad. There should be a sign or something," he called replied, only getting a moan and a grunt in reply.

"This is going to be a long ten miles," Tails muttered under his breath, only to hear Cream's drowsy voice invade his thoughts.

"Mr. Tails, are we there yet?"

**30 minutes later**

"You cannot possibly tell me we aren't lost," Sonic moaned, suddenly falling silent then because a sleeping Amy shifted. If she awoke, everything would be lost the hedgehog knew, and this trip would have gone from bad, to indescribably worse.

"Sonic, do me a favor and quiet down. It shouldn't be far now- Ah, there's the exit," Tails said with straight relief, hitting the accelerator. Sonic grinned; things were finally looking up! The rain had slowed, and they were moving a little faster. The others had all fell asleep; what could go wrong?

As Tails hit the exit, a winding curve greeted them. The fox maneuvered it with ease, a s mile of anticipation on his face as the drove towards Seaside Hill. A sign decorated with surfboards, waves and lei's greeted them. 'Welcome to Seaside Hill!' the sign proclaimed, the bright colors shining through the rain.

"Yes! Finally," The blue speedster exclaimed joyfully, only to be cut off. "What do you mean, 'finally' Sonic? Our hotel is an hour away on the beachfront," Tails said simply.

Sonic's scream filled the van.

**This signals the end of the Prologue. The first chapter will be longer, and I will try and update this by next Tuesday. Check my profile for more information, and be sure to review.**


	2. Beachfront Legends

**P****lease read, enjoy and review; the true darkness will start in Chapter 3.**

**Enjoy the randomness while you can. Apologies for the late update... next one will be quicker.**

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After Sonic's cry of anger and disbelief, a lot of things happened in rapid succession.

Tails slammed on the breaks suddenly, and the van began to spin out of control on the slick highway.

Shadow slammed his hand down on the window unlock button.

All of the windows went down and rain began to spray through all sides of the van.

Amy Rose woke up seeing the world blurry.

No, it wasn't her. The van was spinning that fast.

Knuckles let out something between a roar and a howl, grabbing onto one of the suitcases only for it to fly open, sending the contents everywhere hitting everyone in the van.

Cream simply clutched Cheese to her chest, her brown eyes wide. Throughout all of this, sadly enough it was the little bunny that kept her composure the best.

Cheese held onto the front of her dress for dear life, repeating "Chao, Chao!" even as a sock covered his eyes.

And Sonic's howl hit a fever pitch. He was getting saturated, Amy was awake, and they were out of control.

A shoe then hit him on the side of the head, making his howl go even louder if that was even possible.

Tails was in a state of denial. The van was spinning so fast that the world outside looked like a watercolor painting gone horribly wrong and getting worse, and a shoe had just come out of nowhere and hit him on the side of the head.

Even throughout that, he was still in denial.

'There is no way this is happening, like this' the fox thought, only to be abruptly cut out of his thoughts by Shadow lunging out of his seat, grabbing the wheel and turning it slowly to the left.

The van's spinning gradual slowed, as did Sonic's howling. It eventually came to a dead stop on the highway, facing the right way.

A miracle.

"Is everyone alright?" Tails asked immediately, glancing behind him.

"Yep, everyone's okay! We go through more than that every week against Egghead," Sonic said in his usual cocky way, only for Amy to take a swing at his head.

The blue hedgehog dodged of course, although his emerald eyes were beyond annoyed.

'Here we go again' the blue hedgehog thought with a sigh.

"Good... I'm going to drive us to a gas station, fill up, then Shadow, your going to drive and Sonic's going to read the directions," the golden fox said, raising his hands up against the glares and disbelieving stares he got.

"No excuses!" Tails said, continuing down the highway at a lesuirely pace.

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They soon spotted a sign; it only showed one stop. A gas station call Searider. Tails immediately turned onto the exit.

"Wonder why there's only one stop," Cream murmured softly.

Shadow simply grunted in annoyance at having his nap disturbed, ignoring the glare he got from Amy, folding his arms across his chest and lowering his head so no one could see his eyes.

"We're here," Tails said, pulling up in front of one of the oldest looking gas stations any of them had ever seen.

Everything was a dirty gray color; even the gas pumps. The advertisements posted were so worn out they were unreadable, and the parking lines might as well be non existent. No other cars were there.

"This is creepy," Cream whimpered again.

"Aw, no biggie!" Sonic said to comfort her, before zooming off.

Sonic zoomed in, not noticing the strange silence filling the air. The cashier, a brown kangaroo with long purple lashes glanced at him, then broke into a wide smile.

"If it isn't Sonic the Hedgehog! You can have your gas for free; can I have an autograph though?" she asked.

"Sure, no prob," Sonic said with a grin, quickly signing the blank piece of paper she offered him, before zooming out.

"Start pumping; we get the gas for free for being Sonic Heroes," Sonic said with another cocky smirk, jumping into the van leaving Tails grumbling and sighing behind him as he pumped the gas.

"Sonic Heroes... why not just call ourselves The Sonic Sidekicks?"

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After everyone had pitched in and cleaned up the clothes, they headed out again. Shadow was driving, Sonic in the passenger seat; Tails' had taken the left window seat. Otherwise, same seating arrangements.

"Hey Shads." Sonic said with a smirk.

"What faker?" Shadow replied, his tone mildly irritated at being called his least favorite nickname.

"Any idea why Knuckles decided to take this vacation, instead of guarding the master emerald?"'

"Why should I care?"

"Just askin'."

"Ask the emerald's so called Guardian."

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Sonic cast his glance over the seat; everyone was sleep. Including Knuckles. The blue blur sighed in boredom, and laid back in the seat. He'd just go to sleep until they got there...

*One hour timeskip*

"Faker, what do the directions say?" Shadow asked, somehow throwing a nice elbow to wake him while still keeping them on the road.

"Uh...wah? Youch, keep your elbows to yourself Shads! Wait... where are we?" Sonic gazed at the window, seeing nothing but a thick fog, no signs, no headlights. Nothing, except for that ominous mist.

"Um... what street are we on again?" Sonic prompted, digging for the directions.

"Nevermind Faker," Shadow grunted, pressing the accelerator. Sonic glanced up, still not finding the directions.

"Where are they...?" Sonic prompted. He never noticed Shadow's smirk.

"You left them at the gas station."

Sonic's emerald eyes went wide, and he just looked at Shadow. The ultimate life form never turned, just stared ahead with that strange smirk on his muzzle. Sonic just stared at him, but before he could open his mouth there was the hotel looming before them. The blue blur sighed, sinking down into his seat filled with relief. Shadow had tricked him... before this vacation was over, Sonic would be sure to get him back. That arrogant smirk...

"We're here," Sonic announced, waking everyone up. Soon the next few minutes was rush and bustle as everyone got out and grabbed their bags, chatting excitedly on what they were going to do while they where there. Then, they piled into the lobby where a black goat gave them there rooms. Amy and Cream, Tails and Knuckles, Sonic and Shadow.

Everyone quickly dropped there stuff in there respective rooms, before quickly heading to dinner. Afterwards, everyone decided they wanted to go to the beach and see the sunset; so everyone began to bustle to there rooms. Sonic decided to mill around the hotel's rooms for a while, stalling. Maybe in their excitement they wouldn't miss him, and he could avoid going near water for a few more hours.

The blue blur waited thirty minutes, before heading back upstairs. There, he found Shadow sitting quietly in his room. Before the raven and crimson hedgehog was a small bowl of now cold soup; from the hotel dinner. Sonic tilted his head, noting Shadow's lethargy. The ultimate life form usually didn't talk much, understandable. Yet now, not even nod of acknowledgement or a shift in stance?

Sonic cleared his throat; still nothing. "Shadow?" The hedgehog in question turned his head very slowly, his crimson orbs meeting dark emerald ones. Sonic noticed right away they seemed alert, but gazing straight though him. That strange gazed stayed that way for a full five seconds, before Shadow suddenly shook his head and gave Sonic a strange look.

"When did you come in?" Shadow questioned, narrowing his crimson orbs slightly. Sonic just sighed, and flopped on the bed opposite of Shadow's.

"Just now. Aren't you going to the beach with the others?" Sonic questioned, laying out on the bed, keeping his gaze on Shadow.

The ultimate's face twisted in confusion for a second, almost as if he didn't comphrend Sonic's words. Then, his eyes came back into focus. "Maybe," Shadow grunted, then adding under his breath. "I have to go, but why..."

Sonic's ears flickered. Although that probably wasn't intended for him to hear, he had heard it. Something was going on, yet it didn't bother Sonic the least bit. Who knew what went on in the mind of someone whom had gone through things like Shadow the Hedgehog had?

"Alright then, see ya... when you get back Shads," Sonic said with his trademark smirk. Shadow didn't bother to retaliate, just rolling his eyes as Sonic's naivety, although that mildly confused look crossed his face again before he got up, and left the hotel room without a word. As soon as he did, Sonic walked over and sniffed the bowl of soup, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he did. "No chili? Huh." The blue blur dumped out the bowls contents and threw it away, curling up and dozing off on the bed.

On the beach, everyone minus Shadow was having fun. Amy was collecting seashells, Cream was making sand castles and decorating them with seashells that Amy gave her, Knuckles was just laying back and watching the sunset, while Tails' was knee deep in water examining baby squid. Shadow walked up, and then visibly shuddered. Something was wrong; he could sense it in the air. He sat down, noting it was rather peaceful; too peaceful. His crimson orbs began to wander over the beach almost subconsciously, while his ears stood upright.

"Strange," Tails suddenly muttered, catching the ultimate's attention. "The tide is extremely high all of the sudden." Shadow instantly got up, and walked towards Tails' slowly.

Every step he took, he felt something stirring within him. He suddenly stopped glanced down at his wrists feeling them warm up, only to see his inhibitor rings glowing, uneven lines of fine gold suddenly appearing as his energy flared up like an uncontrolled beast. Shadow stopped immediately, and Tails' then turned.

"Woah..." the young kitsune froze, his twin tails' stilling. Not only had his energy flared on Shadow's wrists, it was on his ankles as well. The ultimate life form's eyes were wide and glassy, as if he were seeing something no one else could. Tails' averted his gaze ever so slightly to see Knuckles up in a fighting stance, walking towards Tails' slowly.

"There's a Chaos Energy flare very close..." the echidna stated, stopping alongside Shadow and gazing towards the ocean. The guardian didn't freeze like Shadow; instead, he gently pulled Tail's out of the water, pulling him high onto the beach. "Cream, Amy, please come over," Knuckles called. The two quickly came, Amy opening her mouth to speak only to be cut off.

"Is it an emeral-" Tails began, only to be cut off as the water suddenly turned dark grey. The air grew still, and everything seemed to stop except for the water itself. It continued in a slow rocking motion, and on the third time it touched the beach something black and shiny slid silently upon the sand. Cream leaned forward to get a better look, but Amy quickly pulled her best friend back, holding her close to protect her lest something happen.

"What the-" Tail's was once again cut off, the silence surrounding the area being cut off by a howling wind. Tails couldn't help but smile as a familiar blue blur stopped in front of them.

"Hey guys," Sonic said, grinning wider than ever. Amy He then stopped, spotting Shadow gazing rigid at the shiny object now poking out of the sand. "What's going on?" the blue blur ventured after a few seconds, noting the silence, and the uneasiness. "Not sure," Tails' prompted, slowly approaching the strange object. Amy, Cream and Knuckles followed closely behind. Sonic walked alongside Tail's stopping to shake Shadow out of it. No response didn't stop him; instead, he increased the shaking until he heard Tail's gasp. He turned his emerald gaze upon the kitsune.

"It's a shard of the eighth emerald...! But that's impossible, it was lost beneath the ocean with for thousands of years- Sonic, you should come see this... something's wrong with it. It's tainted."

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**Cliffy...Please review... and prepare. I didn't like the beginning of this chapter as much as the end, so I will be editing it soon; check back frequently.**


	3. Shadows of the Past

**First of all, thank you for three reviews, one follow and one fav, and the wonderful PM's! It gave me much motivation to write this, and I hope that you see improvement from the last chapter.**

**I apologize for the late update. I was over halfway done with this chapter when my internet crashed, so I was simply unable to post/edit my story for weeks on end. Unbelieveably annoying, and a major hindrance... also, much has been going on in life so the web was second agenda, but I am back now, ready to finish this story and update consistently :3 ****Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last two. Please read and review; and all of the character _currently _in the story belong to Sega, not myself. **

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"An eighth emerald shard?" Amy echoed pushing away from Knuckles and walking over to Tails'. Her hand was promptly grabbed by Cream then released , yet in the initial shock and disbelief of the discovery, the pink female never noticed the silence from the young rabbit, or a lax of the gentle tugs from her chao companion.

"Tainted?" Knuckles questioned, his eyes narrowing slightly and his fists clenching as he walked stiffly towards were the young kitsune and the gem shard in question, kneeling down upon arrival his hard purple eyes focused upon the gem shard. "It's probably fakes. Most of the fakes were filled with a strange energy that backfired when we tried to study, or use them," the guardian stated, letting his eyes slide shut as he began sense the emerald's power swirling within.

"Shads?" Sonic murmured, his emerald eyes locked on the ultimate lifeform. His ears flickered in acknowledgement to Tails' statement, yet he raised his hand to say he'd be there in a second; something about Shadows' posture and behavior. Just like in the hotel. The blue speedster began waving a gloved hand in front of the ultimate's face, one hand on his hip as he did. Certainly Shadow would snap out of it as he had in the hotel. He just needed time.

"Tainted. I'm not sure what's wrong with it, it's energy is similar to the fakes now that you mention it but..." Tails' trailed off, uncertainty in the young geniuses voice as he altered his sky blue gaze to Shadow, then Knuckles, then out over the beach. "Maybe the energy seems different because it's less concentrated, since it's a shard, and there's plenty of unstable, loose energy around it from being shattered," Tails' added, standing up with his twin tails' swishing slightly as he glanced back down towards the emerald. He inhaled deeply before continuing on to answer the last part of Knuckles' statement.

"The energy coursing from this is similar to the fakes, yet also different... if it is a fake, than I think it's a different type," Tails' stated that simply, pausing for a second to think before continuing, biting his bottom lip as he thought, his gaze now on Shadow and Sonic.

"Yet the reaction for Shadow is strange for any type of emerald or charge. Hold on, I'll grab my trusty Chaos Energy Reader from my toolkit and check," Tails' said, slight eagerness creeping into his voice as he turned away from the guardian and began jogging towards the toolkit yet stopping to gaze at Sonic and Shadow, before resuming. Sonic would look when he was ready; no need to disturb him now.

Sonic's gaze upon Shadow intensified as he realized that Shadow hadn't even flinched in the slightest. He didn't even noticed his little brother's gaze on the back of his head.

"Shads here looks like he's seen a ghost," Sonic stated, finally breaking the silence. He then rubbed his index finger under is chin in thought as he stared at Shadow, his emerald eyes dancing over Shadows' body as he tried to locate the problem. The ultimate lifeform was still poised as if he were seeing the ghost straight from the Ark, his inhibitor rings flashing from light golden to dark golden with a strange crackling noise; like that of lightning about to strike. _Just the way he looked in the hotel, yet without the chaos energy..._ The blue blur shook his head to clear his thoughts that kept recurring. Whatever the ultimate was seeing would have to remain that way for now. He needed to investigate what Tails' had discovered; perhaps once more was learned of the discover, it would put the ultimate's mind to ease.

Sonic quickly dashed over to Knuckles, crouching down beside him and glancing at his face. "Didn't we destroy all of the fakes?" Sonic questioned in his confident way, only to hear silence as Tails' thought deeply, and Knuckles remained transfixed. Then, Cream's soft voice broke the silence.

"Maybe it's another trap of Dr. Eggman's to trick us into believing there's another emerald," the young rabbit suggested shyly, bringing Cheese to her chest and gazing at the others, but especially Sonic. Her chocolate eyes were filled with her distinctive curiosity, and eagerness to help. In spite of the strangeness of the whole situation, she still maintained her eagerness.

"I thought I did destroy the fakes, although it wouldn't take too much for Eggman to build another one with the technology he has access too; Cream has a good point. It wouldn't hurt to take a look though," Tails' ventured lightly as he dug through his toolkit, gazing at his big brother as Knuckles frowned slightly, and cast a glance at Shadow.

"Just be careful Tails'," Knuckles warned, still obviously unpleased with the situation. His brow furrowed, as he was unable to really detect much other than energy. Tails' sighed slightly, but the nodded before resuming digging.

Amy glanced at Sonic, Shadow and Tails' meanwhile, feeling rather disgusted that they were ignoring her. She walked over to Shadow and placed a hand on her hip, gazing at his still form before turning to the team.

"What should I do to help?" Amy announced, clasping her hands before her as she glanced from a frozen Shadow to Knuckles, who looked baffled, to Tails' looking for equipment, to Sonic.

"Uh... why don't you, Knuckles and Cream scour the beach for more clues?" Sonic suggested, sounded strangely distant. His eyes were fixated upon the emerald now, and his ears were standing up to their fullest point, nearly touching at the tips; almost in the same posture as Shadow suddenly, except he was in a kneeling poisition.

"Alright, let's go!" Amy said instantly, happy to be doing something, although she noted with obvious distaste, away from the emerald shard... and Sonic. She grabbed Knuckles hand and towed him away, even as Knuckles' shot Sonic and Tails' an angry glare. Why him, why now? There was so much more he could be doing on with the emerald shard, rather than going on a wild goose chase... yet Tails' didn't even notice, as did Sonic, or Shadow, whom was still motionless.

Sonic was still captivated by the gem, when suddenly the world quickly began fading into a stoic silence as his focused intensified. The final words that stood out of the now distant background echoed through his sensitive ears. _"Sonic, Sonic? What did you, what did you find?" _Then the voices slowly faded into an echo, and the distant whispers from all around him began.

The foreign words took Sonic's mind completely by surprise, breaking the silence and blotting out everything else. _Touch it... _the blue hedgehog froze, then began to look around. "Hello? Who's there?" the blue speedster said, although even as he spoke, the mist began clouding his vision.

_Touch it, touch it..._

Sonic froze. The whispers seemed to echo and swirl around him like fog even long after they'd been uttered, and each time they echoed and slithered by him he felt more compelled to do as they bid. Everything except for the emerald shard was coated in a thick, choking mist that seemed to blot out all life around it; the words seemed to come from the mist itself, increasing in volume and power as the mists' range and velocity increased. As the mist continued laying it's strange spell over the hedgehog, the emerald shard began to pulse, it's small almost perfectly chiseled angles spreading out even more.

Almost oblivious to the strangeness going around him, as his mind sunk deeper into it's strange stupor, Sonic fell to his knees silently upon the sand. He then reached for the pulsating, thickening shard as if he were a marionette being controlled by a puppeteer. The numbed hedgehog pulled back his hand then, removing his glove slowly and then reached once more, relishing the sudden coldness of the black gem shard seeping into his hand as he made contact. As soon as he made contact, a soft chuckle emitted from the mist. Then, a cold numbing sensation began to creep up Sonic's arm.

As Sonic rubbed his fingers across the unmarred surface, his emerald eyes began to dance over the surface noting absentmindedly how the light that danced over the the gem's surface didn't reflect, sunk forever into the sill darkness. Then, unwillingly, his eyes latched upon the center of the dark gem. Glass like white eyes formed, and gazed directly into his untainted emerald ones. Large and emotionless with pale mist curving from the outward edges of them, raising into the now darkened sky and vanishing in with the now still world around the hero.

As Sonic stood up to take in his surroundings, he noted everything was gone. The hotels, his friends, the activity... gone. As the blue hero took his first steps forward in confusion, as to where he was and what had happened, the wind began to blow across the desolate beach, turning the calm waves into raging beasts, turning the soft sand into abrasive shards of destruction. No clouds dotted the now black skies, and not a single living thing beside himself stirred.

"Tails? Knuckles? Amy? Shadow? Cream? Cheese?" Sonic called, his voice seeming to echo everywhere. Where were his friends, other creatures? Civilization? Why was the world so bleak?

Then, Sonic saw him. Walking through the raging storm towards him, his ebony muzzle moving yet no words heard. All the blue hedgehog could see where the emotionless, clear pupiless eyes from within the strange storm. Moving towards him, as their owner walked through the sand towards him. Slowly, so agonizingly slow. The mirror-clear eyes flickered through the sand like a ghost of the past, deliberately continuing regardless of the storm intensification... Then, world began to shake, and everything around him was shattered like broken glass.

"Shadow is frozen, and Knuckles' is acting strange... I don't think it's a fake, yet aren't all of the emeralds accounted for? Is it really the legendary eighth emerald?" Tails' mused allowed as he dug, then he froze. "But... the seven servers of chaos.. is that even possibl-"

"Sonic, stop!" Tails', whom had been digging in his bag for less than a minute oblivious to all as he spoke to himself, whirled with Chaos Energy Reader in hand. Full of shock at what he was seeing, he quickly dropped it back into the bag, hearing the first words from Shadow in what seemed like hours. Yet happened to be only minutes. Before the kitsune could even register what happened, the ultimate life form had lunged and grabbed Sonic knocking him forwards, the emerald slipping out of the latter's hand at the unexpected force.

"Zrathos..." Sonic said whispered dizzily, his emerald eyes clouded and glazing over even more. Shadow took one look at his face, his glove upon the sand, and knew he'd been too late. Something had happened to Sonic.

"Say something coherent Sonic," Shadow growled, frustration at being too slow to save Sonic filling him, making his still uncontrolled energy begin hissing. Tails quickly ran over to discover what had happened before the whole beach ended up destroyed.

" Sonic touched it, didn't he..." the kitsune trailed off gazing at Sonic's glove upon the sand, before back to Sonic. Shadow was holding him up even as his big brother's eyes began slide shut, and he mumbled something about voices. Then, suddenly he began kicking, and howling as he reached for the gem shard, his glazed emerald eyes flying open and catching a wild light.

Before Tails' could react, Shadow tightened his grip upon Sonic's waist, his teeth clenching together tightly in a terrifying, now silent snarl. "This is for your own good," he hissed to no one in particular, before balling a fist, winding up, and knocking Sonic clean unconcious with one solid punch to his forehead.

"Go find Amy, Knuckles and Cream," he said tersely to Tails' before the kitsune could fully comphrend what was happening, not taking his eyes off of Sonic. "We need to get him back to the hotel. Get the shard also, and don't forget it."

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Amy continued dragging Knuckles until they were out of sight of the others, her stunning mint eyes filled with determination, and excitement. They then stopped, and she began scouring the waves. "Before the emerald washed up, Shadow's energy began to flare up. Then, you sensed it also; so pay attention to how you feel, alright Knuckles?" the pink femmora said, dropping to her knees and gazing intently over the ocean.

"Uhm," Knuckles grunted, still feeling sulky at the fact he'd been stuck with the overexcited fangirl. The guardian was still convinced that it was a fake, and they were getting excited over nothing. _Strange energy? It's a fake. The fakes have strange energy, that's what makes them different from the real emerald-_ his thoughts were then interrupted by Cream's call.

"Um, Ms. Amy? Mr. Knuckles?" Cream called out. "Yes Cream?" Amy responded absentmindedly, hands behind her back, her gaze still on the tide.

"Cheese and I found a piece of metal with Eggman's logo on it," the rabbit called out. That quickly grabbed Amy's attention; she jumped to her feet and immediately ran over to where Cream was standing, Knuckles' close behind.

"Here," Cream pointed, before drawing Cheese closer. Amy's eyes widened in recognition, as did Knuckles'. "Is.. is it bad?" the young rabbit said, her chocolate eyes widening.

"Not sure yet," Knuckles grunted bluntly, kneeling down on one knee and picking up the piece of metal. It was hardly more than a scrap with a piece of propeller on it and an Eggman logo, yet the Master Emeralds' guardian was already suspecting foul play. _What are the chances that we find a piece of an Eggman machine so close to where we find a fake emerald shard? _

"Looks like something perfect for Tails' to study! C'mon, let's head back," Amy prompted, then turned to see Cream's silent, frightened gaze. The pink femmora offered a reassuring smile, before taking her friends hand.

"Don't worry Cream, it'll be fine," Amy said, squeezing her little sister's hand gently. "Now let's go report to Sonic and Tails'; they will need this to study to prevent any more of Eggman's horrible attacks," Amy continued, drawing Cream and Cheese closer in a hug.

"Thanks Ms. Amy," Cream said softly, sounding and appearing visibly relaxed from her sisters' touch and her words of reassurance.

Knuckles pulled his fist to his muzzle and coughed slightly, reminding the girls that work needed to be done. He then picked up the piece of metal and started out across the beach, Cream and Amy close behind, holding hands with Cheese floating inbetween their shoulders. It wasn't a minute before they ran into Tails'.

The kitsune ran up panting slightly, his eyes wide with worry. One glance and the threesome could tell something was wrong. "Tails'?" Amy stated worriedly, but before she could continue Tails' blurted. "I...I...It's Sonic. He touched the emerald, and now... he's unconscious-" Tails' stopped, realizing he was talking to two mobians, and a cloud of sand. Amy was gone.

"Let's go catch her, I'll explain once we get there!" Tails' exclaimed, his tail revving up as he shot out across the beach after Amy. Knuckles glanced at Cream to make sure she'd cope alright; so far she looked frightened, but seeing Knuckles' glance at her she bravely pushed it away, twined her ears, and took off after Tails' and Amy. "Let's go Mr. Knuckles, we've got to help Mr. Sonic and his friends!"

Shadow was still laying upon the sand, gazing at Sonic and the emerald shard. Back and forth, back and forth. He felt as if he were missing something; when he'd entered his strange state, he had been thrown into patchy memories. Flickers of the Ark darted through his mind, as well as memories not his own... such as a castle, shrouded in darkness. The confusion of the conflicting pictures had been the ultimate's only focus, until Sonic had touched the emerald.

Then, it was if someone had flipped a switch. The memories were gone, and an omnoious laughing had replaced them, and Shadow had seen Sonic fall. Only, Sonic hadn't been alive, and they were no longer on the beach... they were before the gates of the dark castle. When the black and red hedgehog had surged forward and caught him, he'd suddenly seemed to come back to life, and they were on the beach.

Now, Shadow was beyond angry and frustrated. The ultimate didn't like to be toyed with, whether it was an alien, a round human doctor, or a gem shard doing it.

"Sonniku!" Shadow's head shot up, and he was forced to drop Sonic and catch Amy to prevent her from landing upon Sonic. "Not now Amy," the ultimate hissed through gritted teeth, pushing her off. Only for her to dart around him, and lift Sonic's head onto her lap.

"It'll be okay, We'll take care of you Sonniku," She whispered, rubbing her gloved thumb over Sonic's pale muzzle. No response, not even a flinch. Mint eyes danced over his face, searching for any sign of her old hero. Yet he was fully unconscious, with a good sized lump on his head. "Shadow," Amy started angrily, yet Shadow was spared the lecture by the rest of the team arriving.

"Let's get him to the hotel," Tails murmured, glancing over the worried, anxious faces. "Let's get him back," the kitsune repeatedly more forcefully. "Knuckles, you carry him; Shadow, come over here and help me with this emerald. Amy, Cream, please go with Knuckles and make sure nothing happens; when you arrive, wrap him up warmly. I'll be there in a sec, after I gather up this shard."

"When we get to the hotel, we have a piece of Eggman scrap metal for you to look at; found it just a few paces up the beach," Knuckles said, tossing it to Tails' who caught it. He then picked Sonic up and took off, Amy running behind him with Cream flying overhead. Shadow walked over to the young genius, his left arm clutching his right.

"Shadow... I need your help to get this thing back. We'll discuss everything else later," Tails' said, quickly glancing over the metal before shoving it into his bag. He then pulled out a strange, heavy glove and gave it to Shadow. "Put this on; it's one of my new prototypes that should protect you from any stray energy, aftershock, before shock..." the kitsune said, only trailing off at Shadows' glare.

"Got it, although I don't need it," Shadow grunted with perhaps a drop of sarcasm, slipping it on and picking up the emerald shard. He lifted it level with his muzzle for a second, before sliding it deeper into the palm of his gloved hand and securing it. The ultimate then bent down and picked up Sonic's glove with his unprotected hand, and took off for the hotel. Tails' followed, each silent in his own thoughts.

Neither noticed the lack of activity around them, the silence. And that thickening mist that swirled around them, making the tiny shards of sand dance, the wind become seen, and made the world around them whisper and sing. The world that was once still in it's natural splendor, was now alive with small signs of activity. The waves splashed together ever so slightly, yet if either had been paying attention in the slightest, they would've seen pale mist rising from between the crests. And heard the soft chuckles...

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Upon arriving at the hotel, Amy was inesperable from Sonic. The blue hedgehog was sprawled out unconscious on a king-sized bed with thick cotton sheets wrapped around his body in the room he and Shadow were to share, while Amy sat loyally at the edge of his bed with water from when he awoke, gloves removed and hands clasped before her as she held silent vigil.

Tails', Knuckles, Cream and Shadow had gathered in the room Knuckles and Tails' shared, all of them seated on the plush red couch with the piece of metal discovered on the coffee table before them, along with the emerald shard. "Okay, so first we need to find out if the emerald's fake or not. Then, I'll need to take it to my lab to be studied," the kitsune said, motion for Shadow to pass him the glove. Upon taking the glove, Tails' inhaled. "Alright. In order to figure it out, I'll have to see how it reacts to a regular chaos emerald that we know for sure isn't fake. It's the simplest test I can do right now," the kitsune stated, glancing around the hotel room. "But if it is fake, there may be an explosion, so everyone step back," Tails' said, only to be grabbed by Knuckles.

"If there is a chance of an explosion, don't we need to do this somewhere else with you and some protective gear?" Knuckles said, his gaze on Tails' shoulder firm. The kitsune bit his lip slightly, then gently pushed at Knuckles' arm. "No, I'll be alright. Trust me; there will be a warning before it blows up. Besides, the chances of it doing so are slim to none, since it's just a shard," Tails' said, nodding his head slightly as if verifying his point. Knuckles reluctantly released and backed up, exhaling loudly. "Be careful Tails'," he grunted, his purple eyes troubled as he leaned up against the counter near the door.

Shadow just glanced at the twosome and shook his head. "Go help Amy," the ultimate suddenly ordered Cream, in a tone more fearsome than he'd probably intended. The young rabbit nodded and then darted out of the room; Knuckles cast Shadow a slightly agitated glance, but didn't offer any comment. The ultimate walked over to Tails' and handed him his emerald before returning to his position.

Tails sighed softly before pulling out the protective glove he'd given Shadow, some goggles, and a magnify glass. Then, he got to work. He placed Shadows' red emerald directly beside the jet black emerald shard, and then focused the magnifying glass on the emerald shard. In a few seconds, a strange aura began to circle the two emeralds. The shards center began to glow an abnormal shade of teal; at first the glow was small and hardly noticeably, but then it increased to the point that Tails' didn't need the magnify glass to see it. Then, it began pulsating. The air grew heavy with a strange energy, and then black steam began hissing from the red emerald.

Knuckles and Shadow lunged at the same time and yanked Tails' backwards, ducking behind the counter with him being held between him. They stayed that way for a few seconds, before Tails' finally spoke. "That... that's not a reaction that a real, or fake emerald would have..." Tails' began in a stunned tone, but was cut off when Knuckles gloved hand pressed over his mouth. In the sudden silence, they could all hear footsteps, and soft laughing. All three of them froze and tensed up, when the footsteps stopped. Right by the counter; the creature's shadow spread out over the linoleum lining the door. The shadow was one of a hedgehog, with a familiar hairdo like Sonic's. Same size, yet it was the extension of a shadow that they focused upon. The strange figure was holding a scythe, one that was longer than the creature wielding it... and the scythe was dripping something.

Shadows' longtime war experience quickly took over. The ultimate mouthed for Tails' to stay put, and motioned silently to Knuckles to start crawling forward. An ambush; head on. So the two began to make their way forward, crawling on all fours over the cold, linoleum floor of the makeshift hotel kitchen. Then, the lights went out. Knuckles and Tails' froze, yet Shadow continued. His adept ears had began to detect soft taps of footsteps the kitchen floor. Heading right for them. Unable to smell or see the ultimate, whom was in front, had to make a choice. Lay low and hope, or strike.

"Spear!" Shadow roared, springing up with speed that only two in the universe possessed. Swinging the spear just in case, the ultimate slammed his shoulder into his foes stomach, attempting to pin it against the sink. There was only a brief struggle; the creature seemed to be holding something. Probably the much-too-large scythe. Shadow quickly brought the spear to it's throat, or moreso what he assumed was the throat, and opened his mouth to speak only for the lights to come on.

"Amy?" Shadow hissed in disbelief. The stunned pink hedgehog was pressed against the sink, both hands against Shadow's fluffy white chest fur. "Yeah, why did you attack me?" the femmora blurted, obviously as confused as Shadow. The ultimate sighed and slid to the floor without a words. Luckily, Tails' spoke up.

"Didn't you see the emeralds? Hear the chuckling? See the shadow of that hedgehog with the scythe?" The kitsune said, jumping to his feet and gazing at Amy. The pink femora just looked at him, her muzzle slightly red from embarrassment and stress. "No, I didn't hear any of that. I came in here to tell you that Sonic woke up. All I saw were that the lights were off. See, the emeralds are right were you left them," Amy said, one hand on her hip as she gestured to the coffee table. The emeralds' where there, sitting silently. No chuckling. No steam. No pulsating. No changing colors. And no hedgehog creature with a scythe.

The plain mahogany curtains flapped slightly in the wind as if trying to take flight and be free, whilst faint sunlight filtered through the spotless plain window, making the red emerald sparkle scarlet like a freshly blossomed rose, and making the emerald shard shine like a shooting star that had fallen to earth. No foreign liquid matter stained the spotless fluffy beige rug, which in some places, sparkled. There wasn't the slightest sign that anything out of the ordinary had happened.

Amy narrowed her mint eyes at the threesome, and put both hands on her hip. "Who did you think I was? And why are you three on the floor on your hands and knees? Are you playing hide-and-seek? You know what, nevermind, I don't want to know. Just come on and check on Sonic and explain yourselves later, when you can actually make some sense," the femmora huffed, through her hands in the air and storming off, huffing something about her paranoid friends. As soon as she left the room, Tails' stood up, his face pale.

"Well," Knuckles growled. "Now that I can get a word in, what the hell just happened?" the guardian said angrily, jumping up and running around the counter in the fighting stance. Nothing; everything was back to the way it was. Shadow refused to move from the sink, his lip curled slightly and his muzzle still red. Yet, even in his angered state, he didn't fail to notice Tails' fear.

"What is it Tails?" Shadow muttered, his own tone hardly varying from Knuckles. The disbelief that was radiating through him right now was unfathomable; had the threesome just betwitnessed a vision? An illusion? Holograms? But... how? Was it even real?

"Shadow, was that window open when we came in?" the kitsune whispered, his voice hoarse. It took Shadow less than a second to get what Tails' was saying, and it brought him out of his thoughts. He jumped up, and ran to the window with Knuckles right behind him. "It's not open... it's shattered. Cleanly," Knuckles' said, his slightly tanned muzzle sliding open slightly in confusion. Shadow bent down and realized the sparkles on the rug was the sunlight catching broken glass shards scattered about the floor at just the right angle.

For a second, none of the threesome said anything. Silence pervaded, and only the wind whistling through the opening in the window could be heard.

"What just happened?" Tails whispered, walking over to the emeralds. Both were perfectly still. Nothing wrong. Except... "It's clear now. Not jet black," Tails' whispered, although to himself. No one else heard him.

Knuckles placed on hand on his head, and closed his eyes. Shadow slid onto the couch and wrapped his arms around his body, gazing at the emeralds. Tails' leaned up against the windowsill and exhaled hard, letting his sky eyes slide shut deep in thought. Until...

"Come ON you guys! Did you not hear me say Sonic wanted to speak to you?!"

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As the threesome walked into Sonic's room, they were greeted by Sonic sitting upright. "What happened?" he spoke groggily, rubbing his ungloved hands over the back of his spikes. "Shadow knocked you out," Tails' murmured, rubbing the back of his head in absentmindedness. He wasn't fully there; his mind was to the... strangeness they had just experienced.

"Where is the shard? Did you study it yet, Tails'?" Sonic questioned, shifting slightly in his upright position. He was obviously uncomfortable, yet he refused to lay down. Shadow and Knuckles glanced at each other, while Tails' began to scratch the back of his head so hard it hurt. "C-can I discuss that a bit later? I'm still not sure about, the evidene," the kitsune blurted.

Amy cast him a 'really?' gaze, before throwing her hands up. "I go in there, and the lights are out. Then, I get attacked by Shadow. Then Tails' asked me if I saw a hedgehog walking around with a scythe, heard chuckling and saw steam emitting from the emeralds," the femmmora said, ignoring Tails' frantically waving his hands telling her to stop. "So, I'm not even sure if they studied the emerald like they were supposed too."

Sonic blinked once. Twice. Thrice, as if he didn't believe what he heard. He glanced at his little bro for conformation, only for him to mouth 'later'. Nodding to show he understood, Sonic turned to face the others. "Everyone rest, and save there thoughts for later. We'll have a meeting tomorrow morning over breakfast, right now I feel dizzy again," he murmured, letting himself slide back onto the bed. Amy gasped, and caught his head and laid it delicately on the pillow. The blue speedster gritted his teeth slightly, but didn't protest. It was for Tails' sake.

Sighing with relief, the kitsune was the first to leave, with Amy and Knuckles close behind. Shadow sat on the bed opposite of Sonic's and remained that way, silent. Thinking. Waiting.

And wondering if he'd glanced into an alternate universe.

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**I'd say this is a pretty healthy sized chapter, considering I typed it out in a day and a half. I really pushed so I could get it online, so don't be surprise if you see a lot of changes over the next five days. Once more, please review, which brings me to the last part of my little 'I'm back' speech.**

**If I reach 15 comments by the end of the story(triple my goal) I'll do a special little fanfiction... that the fans would like to see. Pick a genre, character, and perhaps a setting; add whatever you'd like, and I'll look it over, PM you etc. This is just writing practice from me, so any requests are very much welcome.**

**Have a wonderful day. Happy Late New Year {xD}**


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